Reading order

I read them in order, sort of. _Sword_ may have been the first SF I ever read. It didn't make much impression though, beyond "that blue book with the fake British Empire". I may have read it again, with no more impression. Last fall someone fed me Deerskin and McKinley finally registered as an author; I read _Hero_, loved it, and finally re-read _Sword_ to remember it. It still didn't grab me. So I read them in order, but didn't experience what McKinley wanted me to due to lack of memory of _Sword_.

I love the idea though, going from the "perfect hero" to behind the scenes. Note that _Outlaws_ is also behind the scene. Steven Brust's Taltos books are behind the scene of Fairyland, and in my opinion good.